KARACHI: Six more passengers have tested positive for Covid-19 upon their return at the Jinnah International Airport from Saudi Arabia, the provincial health department said on Sunday.

Two passengers hailed from Mingora, while remaining four belonged to Ghotki, Rahim Yar Khan, Charsadda and Jacobabad.

“They were selected for the Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) because they had flu-like symptoms,” a health department spokesperson said, adding that the passengers were allowed to leave for their area of residence after being advised to self-quarantine.

Since Jan 5, as many as 15 international travellers, most of them arriving from Saudi Arabia, have tested positive for Covid-19 at the Karachi airport. Their detailed laboratory tests for the infection also came positive.

However, only two of the passengers have tested positive for JN.1 — a highly contagious variant of Covid-19 currently a cause of concern in several countries. The variant has spread to over 40 countries and is categorised by the WHO as a ‘variant of interest’.

In recent days, five locally transmitted cases of the variant have been detected by the Aga Khan University Hospital. The patients, three of them women, had no recent history of travel.

Published in Dawn, January 15th, 2024